Thursday, January 19, 2017

Clinique Free Gift Time (January 2017) Review/First Impressions


It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Nope, not Christmas.  It’s Clinique Free Gift time!  The best part of Free Gift time is that it happens twice a year at Edgars, Truworths and Foschini.  So that’s 6 free gifts a year!



I know, I know, for what I pay for the products, my “gifts” aren’t really free at all, but let me just stop you there, Debbie Downer.  Free gift time is basically just a marketing method to a) get people to spend money and b) try out different products that would ordinarily fall outside of their needs/budget.  I am a Marketer’s Dream.  Therefore, I will happily skip along to buy my products (that, to be fair, I needed any way) to get my free gift that isn’t really fair at all. 

That’s enough of your depression, though.  This post will short and sweet, with an explanation of what’s in the little makeup bag and my first impression and/or review of each product.  Happy reading!



First up, can we just talk about how cute this little bag is?  For as long as I have been purchasing handbags with my own money, I have always bought larger sized bags because I’m that person who will offer you hoards of Nando’s wet wipes or Mugg and Bean mints, and keep my movie 3D glasses with me at all times, lest I want to go to the movies.  However, my newest bag is super small in comparison so stuff had to go.  This little makeup bag looks just the right size to fit a few items to touch up makeup on the go. 



I’m not going to go into a whole lot of detail about the High Impact mascara because I’ve already mentioned how much I love this mascara.  I’ve never actually purchased one in my life: I just get a new one every 6 months at free gift time.  This mascara is the perfect base for any other mascara you might want to use.  It lifts and separates your lashes and blackens them intensely.  The wand is also amazing if you get clumpy lashes with another mascara and you need to calm those spider legs down. 



The next product is the Quickliner for Eyes Intense in “Intense Ivy”, which looks, at least to me, like a black liner with strong green undertones.  It seems to be fitting in with the latest “emerald green” trend that everyone is going mad for.  Honestly, I can’t say I own any form of green makeup so this would have to work with a reddish look for me as a complementary colour.  Also, I have used Clinique’s liners in the past and I find that they smudge easily so for a smokey eye look, this pencil will be bomb.  However, if you’re going for a clean line, you’re not going to get it with this product. 




The lipgloss is very strange to me.  I don’t put Clinique and lipgloss in the same basket, to be honest.  I don’t even know how I feel about the product, but I don’t think I like it.  Firstly, I don’t wear red lipstick.  I have in the past, but then I saw a meme about how thin lips with red lipstick on look like papercuts and I just will not now.  The Long Last Glosswear is intensely thick and sticky, which I imagine is to ensure that it lasts longer and also provides more pigmentation, which it does in both instances (though it does eventually wear down during the time it’s on – as do all lip products that are not permanent).  But I didn’t know how I felt about a bright red glossy lip and I didn’t really like how thick it was.  I decided to give it a second chance over a red lipstick and I absolutely loved it.  The lady at KFC even asked to have my lipstick.  It intensified the red lipstick’s colour and made my lips look much plumper than what they actually are.  Honestly, I don’t think I’d ever wear a red lipstick again without this little baby.  Thumbs up from the non-believer!



I’m always most excited for the skincare because I hoard the Moisture Surge moisturiser for Winter every year because my nose gets super dry from blowing it all the time.  My skin doesn’t really need Moisture Surge any time other than winter, but when it does, this cream/gel is absolutely amazing.  It’s super lightweight and repairs dry skin like a dream.  If you have really dry skin, I highly recommend Moisture Surge all year round because your skin will never be the same again. 



I’ll be honest and say I’m a little disappointed about the face wash this time – usually they do my usual liquid soap but this time they’ve put in their Foaming Sonic Facial soap, which I can only assume is to be used with their sonic brush, which frankly is quite far out of my budget.  I don’t think I’ll use it, unless I run out of my normal face wash. 



Did you see my cute top from Mr. Price on my Instagram??? I am obsessed!! I will definitely be doing a January favourites for everything post, so be sure to check back in when it goes live!!!

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Wishing you love and light for your weekend ♡♡♡